Electrical apparatus for ignition and lighting



April 30, 1957 G. H. DINGMAN ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR IGNITION AND LIGHTING Filed Sept. 28, 1954 I INVENTOR.

1 1 A GLEN H. DINGMAN I A K BREAKER 28,29 OPENS I BREAKER 28,29 CLOSES Y IGNI N BREAKER IGNITION BREAKER OPENS 6m W W 22, CLOSES (SPARK PLUG FIRES) ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR IGNITION AND LIGHTING Glen H Dingman, Sidney, N. Y., assignor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, Sidney, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 28, 1954, Serial No. 458,895

Claims. (Cl. 307-) This invention relates to electrical apparatus and more particularly to electrical circuits in combination with a magneto generator.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide novel circuitry for utilizing the output of a magneto generator.

Another object is to provide novel apparatus wherein the output of a single coil of a magneto generator is employed for both ignition and lighting.

A further object is to provide novel electrical apparatus whereby the excess energy generated in an engine ignition system is used for doing useful work.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detail description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views,

Fig. l is a diagram of one form of ignition and lighting system embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail diagram of a modified form of ignition circuit which may be used in the system of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a graphic illustration of the current wave form in the ignition-lighting coil of the devices of Figs. 1 and 2.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example, as being embodied in a combined ignition and lighting system for a single cylinder internal combustion engine. In the form shown said system comprises a magneto generator 10 of the so-called dual type having a four pole magnetic rotor 11 which may be of any suitable known construction and a pair of two pole stators 12 and 14 disposed at opposite sides of the rotor and having primary windings 13 and 15, respectively. In a manner well understood in the art, a sine wave or alternating current is generated in each of the stator coils during rotation of rotor 10.

The present invention contemplates the use of the energy generated in coil winding 15, for example, in a novel manner to produce both ignition and lighting for an engine driven vehicle. One end of winding 15 is connected to ground at 16, and the other end is connected to parallel circuits, one of which is an ignition circuit and the other a lighting circuit which may include a stop light or any other type of light for the vehicle.

The ignition circuit, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises a switch 17, a transformer coil comprising a primary winding 18 and a secondary winding 19, a spark plug 20 connected between said secondary winding and ground at 21, and a circuit breaker having separable contacts 22, 23 connected between said primary winding and ground at 24. Contact 22 is fixed and contact 23 may be periodically moved to disengaged or open position by a single lobe cam 25 which may be on the same shaft as and rotate with rotor 10. Contact 23 may be urged toward engaged or Patented Apr. 30, 1957 closed position by inherent resiliency in arm 26 or by a coil or other type of spring in a manner well understood in the art. A condenser 27 is preferably connected across the circuit breaker contacts to reduce arcing.

As indicated by the shape of cam 25, circuit breaker 22, 23 is closed during only a small portion of each revolution of said cam and rotor 10. If switch 17 is closed, current builds up in primary winding 18 when breaker 22, 23 is closed. When the breaker opens, a high voltage current is induced in secondary winding 19, resulting in an ignition spark across the electrodes of spark plug 20.

During the intervals when contacts 22 and 23 are separated, or open, the energy generated in winding 15 is diverted to a circuit for energizing a stop light or any other electrical device capable of being energized by the available energy. As shown, said circuit comprises, in series, a circuit breaker or maker including a fixed contact 28 and a spring biased movable contact 29 adapted to be actuated to open position by a single lobe cam 30, a switch 31, a lamp filament 32 and ground at 33. Cam 30 may be mounted on and rotate with the shaft of rotor 10, the same being so positioned with respect to cam 25 as to hold contacts 28 and 29 in open position while contacts 22 and 23 are closed, and vice versa.

The relative timing of circuit breakers 22, 23 and 28, 29 is best illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein a current wave form is shown for two complete cycles, i. e., for two revolutions of rotor 10 and hence, two revolutions of each of earns 25 and 30. The spark plug 20 fires each time circuit breaker 22, 23 is opened by cam 25 at a on the graph. A few degrees later at b, cam 30 permits circuit breaker 28, 29 to close while contacts 22, 23 remain open. The energy generated in coil 15 is now directed through lamp filament 32 when switch 31 is closed. This continues until contacts 28, 29 are again opened at c by cam 30 after rotor 10 has made about three quarters of a revolution. A few degrees later, at d, when the current at coil 15 has decreased to approximately zero, contacts 22, 23 are permitted to close. Current then builds up in primary winding 18 until the circuit is again broken at a by the opening of contacts 22, 23 and the cycle is repeated. At normal operating speeds the filament 32 remains luminescent during the interval when contacts 28 and 29 are disengaged and hence, provides a substantially steady light.

The energy simultaneously generated in coil 13 may be utilized in the same manner as that of coil 15, such as in a two-cylinder engine, but such energy may also be used for other purposes. As shown, coil 13 is connected through a switch 34 to a pair of parallel connected lamp filaments 35 and 36 which are in turn connected to ground at 33. Filaments 35 and 36 may constitute tail and head lights, respectively, for the vehicle. Coil 13 may be grounded at 37.

It will be noted that in the embodiment of Fig. 1, the transformer coil 18, 19 is connected between coil 15 and circuit breaker 22, 23 and that contact 22 is connected to ground. In some installations it may be desirable to insulate both circuit breaker contacts from ground, and in that event, the ignition circuit of Fig. 2 may be used Without changing the lighting circuit. In the modified circuit, switch 17 is connected directly to circuit breaker contact 23' and contact 22' is connected to primary winding 18' which is inductively coupled with secondary winding 19 and grounded at 24'. Spark plug 20 is in circuit with winding 19'.

Although only a limited number of specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is to be expressly understood that the ingra er-a.-

vention is not limited thereto. For example, the ignition switch 17, instead of being in series in the ignition circuit, may be in a parallel circuit to ground for rendering the magneto ineffective. If desired, the action of either or both cams 25 and 30 may be reversed, that is, the cams may be designed to close circuit breakers which ar resiliently biased to open position. The magneto rotor may, if desired, have more than four poles, in which event one current or flux reversal during each rotor revolution would be used for ignition and the remaining reversals would be available for lighting energy. Various other changes, such as in the design and arrangement of parts illustrated, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as will now be understood by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In electrical apparatus, a magneto generator comprising a multi-pole magnetic flux distributing rotor and a stator including a coil and a core, an ignition circuit and a lighting circuit connected in parallel to said coil, said ignition circuit comprising a step-up transformer having a primary winding connected in series with said coil, and means for opening and closing each of said circuits, said means being adapted to maintain each of said circuits closed during at least a portion of the period during which the other of said circuits is maintained open.

2. in electrical apparatus, a magneto generator comprising a stator including a coil and a magnetic flux distributing rotor whereby said rotor effects a plurality of magnetic flux reversals in said stator during each revolution of the rotor, a pair of circuits connected in parallel to said coil, and means for opening and closing each of said circuits, said means being adapted to maintain one circuit closed and the other open during one such flux reversal during each revolution of the rotor and to maintain said other circuit closed and said one circuit open during the remainder of such reversals during each revolution of the rotor, said one circuit comprising a step-up transformer having a secondary Winding and a primary winding connected to said coil in series with the circuit opening and closing means and a spark gap in series with said secondary winding.

3. Electrical apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said one circuit is an engine ignition circuit and the other is a lighting circuit.

4. Electrical apparatus adapted for use on engine equipped vehicles and the like comprising a source of alternating current, an ignition circuit for said engine including a first circuit breaker and the primary winding of a transformer connected in series to said source, means for periodically closing and opening said first circuit breaker, a lighting circuit connected to said source in parallel with said ignition circuit and including a second circuit breaker and at least one lamp filament connected in series, and means for closing and opening said second circuit breaker during each interval that said first circuit breaker is open.

5. Electrical apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said source is a magneto generator comprising a magnetic flux distributing rotor having at least four poles, a stator operatively associated therewith and a coil winding on the stator connected in series with the primary winding of said transformer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,230,508 Beer et al Feb. 4, 1941 

